The Sotho subgroup of the Ntu
(Bantu) language family consists of: Sesotho (Southern Sotho), Setswana and
Sesotho sa Leboa (Northern Sotho). Due mainly to ortographisation and reduction
to writing by various missionaries from different church and religious groups
different characters were used to represent the same sounds in what is supposed
to be the same language or at least closely related language entities. For
example French missionaries worked on Sesotho, British missionaries on Setswana
and German missionaries on Sesotho sa Leboa.

The idea of a unified Sotho language
was mentioned by academics such as A.N. Tucker, G.P. Lestrade, C.M. Doke and C.
Meinhof.

In 1945 J.M. Nhlapo suggested a
unification of the Sotho languages with a new unified orthography. Some of the
suggestions made during this time were included in the (separate)
standardisation of the different Sotho languages. Yet the separate development
of the various Sotho languages was promoted during the Apartheid rule in South
Africa. In promoting and developing the separate languages the idea of separate
"ethnic groups" was enforced and any unifying force for so-called
blacks eliminated or at least reduced.

Recently academics such as Neville
Alexander and C.T. Msimang again raised the issue of the harmonisation of
African languages.

Here are some of Nhlapo's
suggestions in comparison with examples in Sesotho (South African and Lesotho
versions), Setswana and Sesotho sa Leboa.

Sesotho
Lesotho

Sesotho
South Africa

Setswana

Sesotho sa Leboa
(Northern Sotho)

Unified Sotho

Translation

ema

ema

ema

ema

ema

stand

oma

oma

oma

oma

oma

dry

tsela

tsela

tsela

tsela

tsila

road

roma

roma

roma

roma

ruma

send

tsamaea

tsamaya

tsamaya

tsamaya

tsamaya

walk

khomo

kgomo

kgomo

kgomo

kgomu

cow

setlhare

setlhare

setlhare

sethlare

setlhare

tree

chelete

tjhelete

t¹helete

t¹helete

tshelete

money

Example from Nhlapo (1945:15) of a text in
unified Sesotho:

Bathu ba bantshi ha ba itlwayetsa hu
sebetsa thata ka hunne ba nahana huri tiro ki silo se ts'hwanetsing hu
etswa ki mathaka a sa rutwang. (Many people are not used to working hard
because they imagine that work is something that should be done by
uneducated fellows.)

In the following first two paragraphs of a
translation of Androcles and the Lion in Nhlapo's Unified Sotho
Orthography the g of Setswana and Sesotho sa
Leboa are used instead of the h of Sesotho (for example: "gopola"
instead of "hopola" for the word "remember")